The Organ of St Peter’s Anglican Church Willis Street, Wellington

Introduction

Just as the church edifice is a heritage building, so the organ also has high heritage value in addition to its musical one. It is one of only a few larger instruments in Wellington still in its original setting and serving its original function. There is only one other instrument by William Hill in the city, brought out in the 1960’s .The St Peter’s organ is one of even fewer in the region to still have its original decorations on the front pipes.

Although minor changes were made through the years from its installation in 1888, a major change was introduced in 1931 with the replacement of the mechanical action by electro-pneumatic, which was seen as a great boon.

In the early 1970’s the organ was drastically altered in an attempt to follow the principles of the organ reform movement. Time has shown that this was not a felicitous experiment, and after forty years, the moment for restoring some of the earlier tonal design was drawing near. The issue was brought to a head in 2008, when a fire in the church created much smoke and water damage to the organ. Since April 14th  of that year, the organ has been unplayable. (Technophiles will be able to view some of the resultant mess here:)

The sections which follow outline the history of the organ within the church community, and state the aims and goals of the present restoration project.

Early history

When the new (current) church was built in 1879, the parish had a small instrument, also by the English builder William Hill and Son, which was transferred into the new church. As attendance continued to grow, a larger organ was deemed necessary. In 1886, a bequest from the estate of a Miss Harriet Lewis (a passenger on the ship “Oriental” in 1840) enabled the parish to order another instrument from Messrs. Hill and Son. The order books for that time are extant and the order was received in December 1886. Upon the arrival of the new instrument the older, smaller Hill was advertised for sale and was purchased by the Church of the Nativity, Blenheim.

At this time in the life of the parish the organ was in almost constant used for the multiplicity of Sunday services, special weekday occasions , and the normal pastoral offices – weddings and funerals. The first organist about whom a great deal is relatively common knowledge was Mr Thomas Tallis Trimnell, who arrived at St Peter’s in 18xx from St Mary’s Church, Parnell (Auckland). There is speculation that this highly professional English musician removed from Auckland to Wellington because he desired a larger and more enjoyable instrument than the one he had.

The Twentieth Century, Part I

Upon the death of Tallis Trimnell in 1897 (there is a plaque to him in the quire), his place was taken by Dr William Kington Ffyfe, an MD based in Willis Street. Kington Ffyfe had fewer claims on his purse than his predecessor, and over the years of his tenure until his death in 1920, paid for the addition of several stops to the original specification, thus making the organ even more versatile than it had been previously. There is also a plaque to him, located on the organ case.

When Kington-Ffyfe died, his place was taken by a former choirboy by the name of Sidney Bernard Shortt, who served until the end of the Second World War. It was during this period that Messrs Lawton and Osborne installed the electro-pneumatic action, about which there was much publicity in the local papers. More research is waiting to be done regarding Mr Shortt and his tenure, but it is known that his relations are still in Wellington.

The Twentieth Century, Part II

The period of the 1950’s and 60’s was a time of great social change. Large numbers of city-dwellers were moving to the suburbs, other influences were making life difficult for the inner city, and the consequent shrinkage of congregations was felt in all the churches. This was a period of some quiet on the organ stage, although the Wellington organists’ Association were invited by the Vestry to make an audit of the organ in 1960, with a view to keeping it in top condition. The author of the report was A Maxwell Fernie, City Organist and incumbent musical director of the neighbouring St Mary-of-the-Angels Church, two blocks away. Although there appeared to be grand plans, including moving the organ to the west gallery, none of the eventuated due to financial constraints.

In the early 1970’s a young, promising musician arrived on the organ bench. His name was Anthony Jennings, and he went on to make a major contribution to the musical life of both Wellington and Auckland before moving to Sydney, where he died sooner than he should have. Tony was fully inspired by the new ideals of the Organ Reform Movement, which arose from European instruments, and set about remaking the old organ in the new image. It was again mooted to resite the organ into the gallery, but this was again dropped for lack of funds. The work was undertaken by George Croft and Sons of Auckland.

Where we are now

Aside from damage caused by, and directly attributable to, the fire of 2008 (which is covered by insurance) there is other restoration work which, ideally, would be done concurrently. In the 1970’s rebuild, anything of the 1930’s work that was still sound was left in place; after 70 years the wear is beginning to take its toll. While the organ is dismantled is also the time to make certain other changes that will return the instrument more to its original character and usefulness for the accompaniment of Anglican worship than it is at present.

Organists and organ builders around the world are now much more aware of the value of the Victorian organ than they have been in the recent past, and organs such as this are regaining their rightful place in the spectrum of organ development. There would be an economic and musical gain for the city if this organ were to be fully restored.

St Peter’s is one of a small group of churches open throughout the day, 7 days per week, as a quiet place in the heart of the noise and bustle of the city. It has been so since 1848.

It also fostered many social agencies now a basic part of the Wellington scene – Downtown Community Ministries, St Peter’s Pantry, Wellington City Mission, Catacombs and Vincent’s Art Studio, to name but a few.

We therefore thank you, the outside community, for assistance in bringing this major asset back into prime working order. It has played for marriages and funerals for 120 years, and we hope it will for at least another century.